Manchester Cathedral Mystery
Manchester Cathedral is an unchanging landmark in the midst of a constantly changing city
Most of the exterior we see today dates from the Victorian era, but underneath there are parts of the building that date from medieval times.
Its full name is The Cathedral and Collegiate Church of St Mary, St Denys and St George in Manchester, and it is an Anglican or Church of England place of worship.
Manchester Cathedral has been the venue for many services and commemorations. One of the most publicised this year was the service of remembrance for George Best, held 16 March 2006.
Down the centuries and up to the present day, marriages have taken place at Manchester Cathedral. And it’s on this point that family history researchers have noticed a mysterious aspect of the marriage registers: Why are such a huge number of marriages recorded in the earlier part of the 19th century and before?
This is a question that family history researcher Henry Mantell has looked into, and found an answer to, which tells us many interesting things about the Manchester of that time.
Read Henry’s article Family History: Why so many marriages in Manchester Cathedral?, hosted on my aidan.co.uk site.
Click on the thumbnail graphic (right) to view photos of Manchester Cathedral from the Aidan O’Rourke photo portfolio.
And to find out more about Manchester Cathedral, visit the official Manchester Cathedral website www.manchestercathedral.org.